PORTLAND, Maine — Google's four-story barge left Portland for Boston, and will soon be scrapped.

The Portland Press Herald reports the barge itself will remain in Boston for some time before it is put to commercial use somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Portland Tugboat LLC Capt. Brian J. Fournier's company escorted the barge to Boston Harbor. He says the four-story, white-colored structure that sits on the barge will be scrapped.

The Google barge carried 63 shipping containers connected to create the four-story building. Google Inc. confirmed this month that the barge has been sold. Google initially envisioned it as a floating retail store.

Cianbro Corp. was once scheduled to do interior work on it, including installing undisclosed technology equipment. The company never disclosed the identity of the barge's owner.